Drilling and Production System Components with Wide Flange Bodies

ABSTRACT

Components of drilling and production systems with wide flange bodies are provided. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a component ( 40, 124, 126, 128 ) of a wellhead assembly ( 18 ) or of a riser ( 16 ) of a drilling or production system, the component having a non-tubular main body ( 42, 130, 140 ) and a bore ( 44, 132, 144 ) extending axially through the main body to allow fluids to flow through the main body via the bore. Rather than having a flanged neck fixedly extending the bore from the main body with a connection flange below or above the main body, the component includes a lateral flange ( 50, 134, 146, 160 ) extending outwardly from an exterior surface of the main body such that the lateral flange is positioned alongside the main body. Additional systems, devices, and methods are also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE PARAGRAPH

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/330,835, entitled “BLOWOUT PREVENTER WITH WIDE FLANGE BODY,” filedMay 2, 2016, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart that may be related to various aspects of the presently describedembodiments. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing thereader with background information to facilitate a better understandingof the various aspects of the present embodiments. Accordingly, itshould be understood that these statements are to be read in this light,and not as admissions of prior art.

In order to meet consumer and industrial demand for natural resources,companies often invest significant amounts of time and money in findingand extracting oil, natural gas, and other subterranean resources fromthe earth. Particularly, once a desired subterranean resource such asoil or natural gas is discovered, drilling and production systems areoften employed to access and extract the resource. These systems may belocated onshore or offshore depending on the location of a desiredresource.

Further, such systems generally include a wellhead assembly throughwhich the resource is accessed or extracted. These wellhead assembliesmay include a wide variety of components, such as various casings,valves, fluid conduits, and the like, that control drilling orproduction operations. More particularly, wellhead assemblies ofteninclude blowout preventers, such as a ram-type preventer that uses oneor more pairs of opposing rams to restrict flow of fluid through theblowout preventer or to shear through a drill string or another objectwithin the blowout preventer. Multiple blowout preventers can beassembled in a blowout preventer stack for use at a well.

SUMMARY

Certain aspects of some embodiments disclosed herein are set forthbelow. It should be understood that these aspects are presented merelyto provide the reader with a brief summary of certain forms theinvention might take and that these aspects are not intended to limitthe scope of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass avariety of aspects that may not be set forth below.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to blowoutpreventers and other components having external connection flangesextending laterally from sides of their main bodies to facilitateconnection of these components to each other or to additionalcomponents. In at least some embodiments, these external connectionflanges are provided as part of a wide flange body and allow verticalbore API connections to be omitted from the component. This, in turn,allows a reduction in the height of the component and in various stackshaving such a component.

Various refinements of the features noted above may exist in relation tovarious aspects of the present embodiments. Further features may also beincorporated in these various aspects as well. These refinements andadditional features may exist individually or in any combination. Forinstance, various features discussed below in relation to one or more ofthe illustrated embodiments may be incorporated into any of theabove-described aspects of the present disclosure alone or in anycombination. Again, the brief summary presented above is intended onlyto familiarize the reader with certain aspects and contexts of someembodiments without limitation to the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of certain embodimentswill become better understood when the following detailed description isread with reference to the accompanying drawings in which likecharacters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 generally depicts a well apparatus in the form of an offshoredrilling system with a drilling rig coupled by a riser to a wellheadassembly in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a blowout preventer stack assemblyof the apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a blowout preventer having a main bodywith external connection flanges protruding laterally from sides of aram cavity body portion in accordance with one embodiment;

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sections of the blowout preventer of FIG. 3 andshow certain internal components in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the body of the blowout preventer ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the body of the blowout preventer of FIG.3;

FIG. 8 is an elevational view of the body of the blowout preventer ofFIG. 3;

FIGS. 9 and 10 depict outer perimeters of the blowout preventer body ofFIGS. 6-8 lying within reference planes depicted in FIGS. 6 and 8;

FIGS. 11 and 12 depict modular blowout preventer stacks having multipleblowout preventers with identical main bodies in accordance with certainembodiments;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an apparatus that includes two annularblowout preventers, a connector, and a flex joint, each having a mainbody with an external connection flange protruding laterally from theside of the main body, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIGS. 14A and 14B depict one of the annular blowout preventers of theapparatus of FIG. 13;

FIGS. 15A and 15B depict the flex joint of the apparatus of FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 shows an annular blowout preventer stacked on a connector inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIGS. 17 and 18 depict the annular blowout preventer of FIG. 16;

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of two blowout preventers with raisedfaces in a stacked configuration in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of two blowout preventers like those ofFIG. 19, but in which the raised faces having partitioning grooves inaccordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a top plan view of the blowout preventer stack of FIG. 20;

FIGS. 22 and 23 are cross-sections of the blowout preventer stack ofFIG. 20;

FIGS. 24 and 25 are detail views showing fasteners that connect flangesof the blowout preventers of FIG. 20 and inserts for reducing bendingstresses on the connection in accordance with one embodiment; and

FIG. 26 is an exploded view of the fasteners and inserts of FIGS. 24 and25.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. Inan effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, allfeatures of an actual implementation may not be described in thespecification. It should be appreciated that in the development of anysuch actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project,numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a developmenteffort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be aroutine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those ofordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

When introducing elements of various embodiments, the articles “a,”“an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or moreof the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” areintended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elementsother than the listed elements. Moreover, any use of “top,” “bottom,”“above,” “below,” other directional terms, and variations of these termsis made for convenience, but does not require any particular orientationof the components.

Turning now to the present figures, a well assembly or apparatus 10 isillustrated in FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment. The apparatus10 (e.g., a drilling system or a production system) facilitates accessto or extraction of a resource, such as oil or natural gas, from areservoir through a well 12. The apparatus 10 is generally depicted inFIG. 1 as an offshore drilling apparatus including a drilling rig 14coupled with a riser 16 to a wellhead assembly 18 installed at the well12. Although shown here as an offshore system, the well apparatus 10could instead be an onshore system in other embodiments.

As will be appreciated, the drilling rig 14 can include surfaceequipment positioned over the water, such as pumps, power supplies,cable and hose reels, control units, a diverter, a gimbal, a spider, andthe like. Similarly, the riser 16 may also include a variety ofcomponents, such as riser joints, flex joints, a telescoping joint, fillvalves, and control units, to name but a few. The wellhead assembly 18can include equipment coupled to a wellhead 20, such as to enable thecontrol of fluid from the well 12. The wellhead 20 can also includevarious components, such as casing heads, tubing heads, spools, andhangers.

Any suitable blowout preventers, such as ram-type preventers or annularpreventers, could be used at one or more locations in the apparatus 10.For instance, blowout preventers can be located at the surface on thedrilling rig 14 or provided as part of the wellhead assembly 18 at thesubmerged wellhead 20. One example of a blowout preventer stack 26 thatmay be used in the apparatus 10 is generally depicted in FIG. 2. Theblowout preventer stack 26 includes ram-type preventers (represented asshear rams 28 and pipe rams 30) and an annular preventer 32. The numberof ram-type preventers used in the blowout preventer stack 26, as wellas their configurations (e.g., ram type, size, and capabilities), canvary between different implementations, as can the number andconfigurations of annular preventers. In one subsea embodiment, a lowermarine riser package (LMRP) 36 having an annular preventer 38 isattached to the blowout preventer stack 26. It will be appreciated thatthe lower blowout preventer stack 26 and the LMRP 36 can include othercomponents in addition to or in place of those depicted in FIG. 2. TheLMRP 36, for example, can include control pods for controlling operationof the preventers of the lower blowout preventer stack 26 and the LMRP36. In some other embodiments, such as surface embodiments, the LMRP 36is omitted.

A ram-type blowout preventer 40 is illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 as anexample of a blowout preventer that can be included in a blowoutpreventer stack 26. The blowout preventer 40 includes a hollow main body42 and a main bore 44 (which may also be referred to as a drill-throughbore) that enables passage of fluid or tubular members through theblowout preventer 40. As will be appreciated, the blowout preventer 40may be coupled to additional blowout preventers of a blowout preventerstack 26 or to other equipment, such as via holes 46 that receivefasteners 48. Although depicted in the form of bolts and nuts in FIG. 3,the fasteners 48 could take any other suitable form in differentembodiments.

Many other blowout preventers include tubular connection necks thatextend outwardly from central portions of their main bodies along theirmain bores. These connection necks lengthen the main bores and increasethe height of such blowout preventers. That is, the extensions of themain bores by the connection necks provide additional axial spacebetween central bodies of the preventers for fasteners (e.g., of abolted or studded connection) to be used. These connection neckstypically include flanges that conform to American Petroleum Institute(API) Specification 6A (i.e., the flanges are API flanges), and theflanged connection necks can be referred to as vertical bore APIconnections. Such an API connection allows fastening of a blowoutpreventer to another component along the neck (at the flange) and nearthe main bore over or under a central portion of its body—in the case ofa ram-type preventer, over or under a ram cavity portion of the body,for instance.

In contrast, the blowout preventer 40 does not have a flanged connectionneck that extends the main bore 44 and facilitates connection to anothercomponent. Rather, the depicted blowout preventer 40 includes awide-flange body profile having external connection flanges 50 thatprotrude laterally at sides of the main body 42. This allows the blowoutpreventer 40 to be connected to other blowout preventers or componentswith fasteners 48 positioned alongside the main body 42 rather than atnecks above and below the main body 42. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, theconnection flanges 50 include a bolt pattern with parallel rows of holes46 through which fasteners 48 may be installed.

Bonnet assemblies 52 of the blowout preventer 40 include bonnets 54secured to the main body 42. The bonnet assemblies 52 include cylindersthat house various components that facilitate control of rams 56disposed in a ram cavity 58 of the blowout preventer 40. In thepresently depicted embodiment, the rams 56 operate in response tohydraulic pressure from control fluid routed into the bonnet assemblies52. More particularly, as illustrated in the cross-sections of FIGS. 4and 5, the blowout preventer 40 includes rams 56 controlled by actuationassemblies 60 having operating pistons 62 and connecting rods 64. Theblowout preventer 40 is here depicted as a single-ram blowout preventerhaving one pair of rams 56. The rams 56 in FIGS. 4 and 5 are generallydepicted as pipe rams, which can include sealing elements (also known asram packers) that cooperate with one another when driven together toseal about a pipe or other tubular member and inhibit flow through thebore 44 of the blowout preventer 40. The rams 56 could take other forms,however, such as blind rams or shear rams. Further, in other embodimentsthe blowout preventer 40 may have a different number of rams. Forexample, the blowout preventer 40 could instead be a double-ram blowoutpreventer with two ram cavities and two pairs of rams or a triple-ramblowout preventer with three ram cavities and three pairs of rams. Thenumber of rams, along with their types and sizes, may be selected basedon the intended application.

In operation, a force (e.g., from hydraulic pressure provided by controlfluid) may be applied to the operating pistons 62 to drive the rams 56,via the connecting rods 64, into the bore 44 of the blowout preventer40. The connecting rods 64 extend through the bonnets 54 and enableforces on the pistons 62 to be transmitted to the rams 56. Only certainportions of the bonnet assemblies 52 have been generally depicted inFIGS. 3-5 for explanatory purposes, and the skilled artisan willappreciate that the bonnet assemblies 52 may have other components. Forinstance, various seals may be provided between the connecting rods 64and the bonnets 54 to inhibit leaking while enabling axial movement ofthe connecting rods through the bonnets. Although the rams 56 areillustrated as hydraulically actuated rams in the presently depictedembodiment, it is noted that the rams 56 could be actuated in any othersuitable manner as well.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, each ram 56 is controlled by anactuation assembly 60 having two pistons 62. Because hydraulic force onthe operating pistons 62 is proportional to the surface areas to whichpressure is applied, the two pistons 62 per ram 56 allow the pistons 62to cumulatively provide the same reactive surface area as a single,larger piston 62. This, in turn, enables a compact design with bonnetassemblies 52 occupying less vertical space along the blowout preventer40. But in other embodiments each ram 56 may be controlled with adifferent number of pistons 62, such as with a single piston.

The blowout preventer 40 is depicted in FIGS. 3 and 5 as having chokeand kill line connection assemblies 70 and 72 mounted to the exterior ofthe main body 42. Choke and kill lines can be connected to theassemblies 70 and 72 in fluid communication with the bore 44 to allowdrilling fluid to enter into the bore 44 and to circulate fluid betweenchoke and kill lines to control wellbore pressure. The assemblies 70 and72 include valves 74 for controlling flow between the choke and killlines and the bore 44.

Additional features of the main body 42 of the blowout preventer 40 maybe better appreciated with reference to FIGS. 6-8. As shown in thesefigures, the main body 42 includes a ram cavity body portion 78, whichdefines the ram cavity 58, and external connection flanges 50 protrudinglaterally from the ram cavity body portion 78. The bore 44 extendsvertically through the body 42 (more particularly, through the ramcavity body portion 78) from an upper surface 80 to a lower surface 82.The ram cavity 58 extends laterally through the ram cavity body portion78 between opposing ends 84 and is transverse to the bore 44, allowingthe rams 56 to be extended into the bore 44 during well controloperations. The bonnet assemblies 52 may be connected to the opposingends 84, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5.

The ram cavity body portion 78 also includes opposing sides 86 that runthe length of the body 42 between the opposing ends 84. The connectionflanges 50 protrude from these opposing sides 86 and allow the blowoutpreventer 40 to be fastened to other components (such as additionalblowout preventers) along the sides of the ram cavity body portion 78,rather than above and below the ram cavity body portion 78 (as would bethe case with vertical bore API connections). In the presently depictedembodiment, the body 42 includes an upper pair of connection flanges 50extending laterally from the top of the ram cavity body portion 78 and alower pair of connection flanges 50 extending laterally from the bottomof the ram cavity body portion 78, with the upper and lower surfaces 80and 82 being rectangular planar surfaces (which may include roundedcorners, such as shown in FIG. 7) that include sides of the flanges 50.In other instances, the flanges 50 could be axially offset (with respectto a central axis 88 of the bore 44) from the top and bottom surfaces ofthe body 42. In at least some embodiments, including that depicted inFIGS. 6-8, the body 42 is constructed such that the shortest axialdistance between a connection flange 50 and the ram cavity 58 (thedistance measured parallel to the central axis 88 and generallyrepresented by arrow 90 in FIG. 8) is less than the shortest radialdistance between the connection flange 50 and the central axis 88 (asgenerally represented by arrow 92 in FIG. 7).

Omitting vertical bore API connections from the upper and lower surfaces80 and 82 allows a reduction in the height of the body 42 (generallyrepresented by arrow 94 in FIG. 8). In some cases, the height of thebody 42 is reduced to an amount similar to the height of bonnets 54(generally represented by arrow 96 in FIG. 8) connected to the opposingends 84. For example, the body 42 and an attached bonnet 54 can beconfigured such that the height of the bonnet 54 is more than ninety orninety-five percent of that of the body 42. This allows closer axialspacing of bonnets 54 in blowout preventer stacks having multipleblowout preventers 40 (compared to a stack of blowout preventers withvertical bore API connections and connected bonnets axially spacedfurther apart due to the increased height associated with the verticalbore API connections) and may facilitate reductions of both height andweight in such blowout preventer stacks.

Though some other embodiments may differ, in at least some embodimentsthe blowout preventer body 42 is widest measured across the externalconnection flanges 50. Moreover, in the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 6-8the outer perimeter of the body 42 about its lateral edges is larger atthe portions of the body 42 including the flanges 50. By way of example,FIGS. 6 and 8 show parallel planes 102 and 104 extending through thebody 42 perpendicular to the bore 44. The plane 102 extends through theupper connection flanges 50, while the plane 104 extends through the ramcavity 58 without passing through any of the connection flanges 50. Thetwo-dimensional profiles of the body 42 lying in the planes 102 and 104are depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10, with an outer perimeter 108 of the body42 within the plane 102 shown in FIG. 9 and an outer perimeter 110 ofthe body 42 within the plane 104 shown in FIG. 10. As can be seen fromthese figures, the cross-sectional area bounded by the perimeter 108 islarger than that bounded by the perimeter 110.

The blowout preventer 40 can be installed with other blowout preventersin a blowout preventer stack, as discussed above. In at least someembodiments, multiple blowout preventers 40 with structurally identicalbodies 42 (each having the same bore, ram cavity, and size) can be usedto construct a modular blowout preventer stack. Two examples of suchmodular blowout preventer stacks 120 are depicted in FIGS. 11 and 12 ashaving three blowout preventers 40 and six blowout preventers 40,respectively, although other numbers of preventers 40 could be used inadditional embodiments. The blowout preventers 40 in the blowoutpreventer stacks 120 of FIGS. 11 and 12 have independent and separablemain bodies 42, as in FIGS. 3-8, and each of the preventers 40 isfastened directly to adjoining preventers 40 in the stack 120 via theexternal connection flanges 50. This is in contrast to other blowoutpreventer stacks using vertical bore API connections located axiallybetween ram cavity body portions of the preventers or using tie rods tohold the preventers of a stack together without being fastened directlyto one another. Although not presently depicted, it will be appreciatedthat the upper and lower surfaces 80 and 82 of the blowout preventerbodies 42 can include seal grooves about the ends of their bores 44. Anysuitable seal ring or gasket can be provided in these seal grooves toinhibit leakage from the bores 44 between the blowout preventer bodies42 in the blowout preventer stacks 120. In at least some embodiments,the blowout preventers 40 are pre-assembled, with bonnet assemblies 52attached to the bodies 42, prior to integration of the blowoutpreventers 40 in a blowout preventer stack 120.

By omitting vertical bore API connections and flanged necks between theblowout preventers 40, the heights of the blowout preventer stacks 120may be substantially reduced. For example, in one embodiment the blowoutpreventer body 42 of each preventer 40 may be designed for service withan eighteen-and-three-quarter-inch (approx. 48-cm) bore at a ratedpressure of 15 ksi (approx. 103 MPa), and the omission of vertical boreAPI connections allows the height of each preventer to be reduced byapproximately sixteen inches (approx. 41 cm). This height savings, andaccompanying weight savings, facilitates the assembly of lighter andshorter blowout preventer stacks. And in at least some embodiments, thismakes the blowout preventer stacks easier to handle on drilling rigs,reduces space requirements on the drilling rigs for storing the blowoutpreventer stacks, and reduces the loads and bending moments on wellheadswhen installed.

Further, although the body sizes of the blowout preventers 40 could varyin some other implementations, the ram-type preventers in the blowoutpreventer stacks 120 of FIGS. 11 and 12 use a blowout preventer body 42with a standardized design common to each ram-type preventer. Even witha standardized body 42, different rams or bonnet assemblies could beused with the blowout preventers 40 of a given blowout preventer stack.Using a single, standardized body 42 with one size and one configuration(per bore size and per pressure rating) with one ram cavity for eachpreventer 40 may also allow operators to maintain a more efficientcapital spares program by having to stock just one body configurationfor a given bore size and pressure rating, rather than stockingdifferent bodies with different numbers of ram cavities andconfigurations, such as singles (with one ram cavity), doubles (with tworam cavities), extended doubles, triples (with three ram cavities), andextended triples. Instead, the number of ram cavities that would bepresent in a double- or triple-cavity preventer can be provided by acombination of two or three of the single preventer bodies 42.Additionally, one or more spacers can be positioned between singlepreventer bodies 42 to provide axial space for bonnet assemblies tallerthan a single body 42 to be used (e.g., to accommodate bonnets havinglarger pistons that cause the height of the bonnets to exceed that of apreventer body 42 to which they are attached).

Other components of wellhead assemblies and risers may also havewide-flange body profiles with external connection flanges protrudinglaterally from sides of the main bodies of the components, rather thanhaving connection flanges provided on tubular necks above or below themain bodies. This allows the components to be coupled together, or toother components, with fasteners alongside the main bodies rather thanabove or below the main bodies on necks extending from the main bodies.And this, in turn, facilitates omission of such connection necks (e.g.,vertical bore API connections) and shortening of the wide-flangedcomponents, as discussed above.

Further examples of components having external connection flangesextending laterally from the sides of their main bodies, rather thanfrom necks above or below the main bodies, are depicted in FIG. 13. Moreparticularly, an apparatus 122 is shown in FIG. 13 as having two annularblowout preventers 124, a connector 126 coupled below the annularpreventers 124, and a flex joint 128 coupled above the annularpreventers 124. In at least some instances, the apparatus 122 isprovided as part of the LMRP 36 (FIG. 2) and the connector 126 is acollet connector that can be used to attach the LMRP 36 to the lower BOPstack 26. The collet connector can include an internal cavity with amoveable collet (which may be hydraulically actuated) for locking andsealing the connector 126 to the lower BOP stack 26. In other instances,a collet connector or other connector 126 could be used to couple ablowout preventer stack to other components of a wellhead assembly.

Each of the annular preventers 124, the connector 126, and the flexjoint 128 is depicted as having a round, non-tubular main body with alateral connection flange that allows ends of the components to becoupled together with (non-API) fastened connections alongside the mainbodies rather than between the main bodies. In at least someembodiments, including that depicted in FIG. 13, the wide-flanged bodiesof the components are widest measured perpendicular to their centralbores across the lateral connection flange. And in some instances, theouter perimeters of these wide-flanged bodies (measured in planesperpendicular to their central bores) are greatest at the lateralconnection flanges extending from the bodies.

Like discussed above with respect to the blowout preventers 40, omittingvertical bore API connections and flanged necks between the componentsof the apparatus 122 facilitates the assembly of lighter and shortercomponent stacks, which makes such stacks easier to handle on drillingrigs, reduces space requirements on the drilling rigs for storing thestacks (or the individual components), and reduces the loads and bendingmoments on wellheads when installed.

One of the annular preventers 124 is depicted in FIGS. 14A and 14B inaccordance with one embodiment. As shown, the annular preventer 124includes a main body 130 with a bore 132 extending axially through themain body 130. It will be appreciated that the main body 130 includes aninternal cavity holding moveable components, such as a packer and anactuation piston, used in selectively sealing the bore 132. Lateralconnection flanges 134 extend outwardly from the exterior of the mainbody 130. Positioned alongside the main body 130, these lateralconnection flanges 134 facilitate coupling of the annular preventer 124to other components above and below the main body 134 without usingtubular necks to fixedly extend the bore 132 and create axial space forconnection flanges positioned on the tubular necks above or below themain body 134 (i.e., axially between the main body 130 and the adjacentcomponents along the bore). The lateral connection flanges 134 aredepicted in FIGS. 14A and 14B as having holes 136 for fastening (e.g.,via bolts or studs) the flanges 134 to other components, but the flanges134 could be coupled to other components in different manners. Althoughnot presently shown, the upper and lower surfaces of the annularpreventer 124 can include seal grooves about the ends of the bore 132for receiving suitable seal rings or gaskets to seal between the annularpreventer 124 and components connected via the lateral connectionflanges 134. Similar seal grooves can be provided in the end faces ofother wide-flanged components, such as the connector 126 and the flexjoint 128.

As a further example, the flex joint 128 is shown in FIGS. 15A and 15Bin accordance with one embodiment. Flex joints allow angulardisplacement of components connected above the flex joints with respectto components connected below the flex joints. In a subsea embodiment,for example, the riser 16 can be coupled to the wellhead assembly 18(e.g., at the LMRP 36) via the flex joint 128 of the apparatus 122.

The depicted flex joint 128 includes a main body 140 and a pivotingextension 142 received in a bore 144 extending axially through the mainbody 140. Rather than fixedly engaging the main body 140, a lower end ofthe extension 142 is received within an internal cavity (e.g., arecessed portion of the bore 144) in the main body 140 in a manner thatfacilitates angular displacement of the extension 142 with respect tothe main body 140. In some embodiments, for example, the extension 142is received in the main body 140 in a ball-and-socket arrangement, witha ball end of the extension 142 allowed to pivot within a socket insidethe main body 140. One or more seals can be used within the main body140 to maintain sealing with the moveable extension 142.

A lateral connection flange 146 extends outwardly from the side of themain body 140 to facilitate connection of the lower end of the flexjoint 128 to an annular preventer 124 (or to another component) withoutusing a tubular neck to position a connection flange between the annularpreventer 124 and the main body 140 of the flex joint 128. The lateralconnection flange 146 can be connected to other components via fasteningholes 148 or in any other suitable manner. The extension 142 includes abore 150, in fluid communication with the bore 144, and a flange 152 forconnecting the upper end of the flex joint 128 to the riser 16 oranother component.

Although some wide flanges (e.g., flanges 134 and 146) are depicted asextending continuously about the main bodies from which they laterallyextend, in other embodiments the wide flanges may instead be interruptedflanges that do not extend continuously about the main bodies. Inanother embodiment depicted in FIG. 16, for instance, an annularpreventer 124 and a connector 126 include complementary fastening tabs156 extending outwardly from the sides of their main bodies, rather thanhaving flanges that extend continuously around their main bodies. Thetabs 156 include fastening holes 158 for receiving fasteners, such asbolts. The tabs 156 can be spaced along the sides of the main bodies inany suitable manner. As depicted in FIG. 17, the tabs 156 can be evenlyspaced about the perimeter of the main body from which they extend. Likethe wide flanges described above, these tabs 156 facilitate connectionof the main body from which they extend without using a tubular neck toposition a flange between the main body and another component.Consequently, the series of tabs 156 can be considered an interruptedwide flange 160, as generally represented in FIG. 18, with recessedportions between the tabs 156 about the main body.

Wide-flanged components, such as those described above, can be formed inany suitable manner. In at least some embodiments, main bodies ofpressure-control devices of a wellhead assembly or riser (such as thosedescribed above) are each formed with a bore extending axially throughthe main body and an internal cavity for receiving moveable componentsthat facilitate pressure control within the main body. A lateralconnection flange extending outwardly from the exterior of the main bodyis also provided, which enables the pressure-control device to becoupled (e.g., as a part of a wellhead assembly or a riser) by afastened connection alongside the main body. In some instances, acomponent may be provided with multiple lateral connection flanges, suchas at opposite ends of the main body of a component. In at least oneembodiment, the lateral connection flange extending outwardly from themain body is provided by forging the flange with the main body. Andwhile certain examples of wide-flanged components are described above,it will be appreciated that the present techniques can also be used toproduce other components with wide flanges, such as wide-flanged valvesand chokes.

Upper and lower ends of blowout preventers, flex joints, connectors, andother components can be provided with raised faces to reduce the area ofcontact between the connected components. This reduction in the area ofcontact allows the bolting make-up load in a flanged connection to beconcentrated over a smaller area to increase the contact pressure ofmating faces, which helps the connection resist leakage due to variousseparating loads resulting from tensile forces and bending moments.Referring to FIG. 19, for example, blowout preventer main bodies 42 caninclude raised faces 170. While a raised face 170 is shown on the lowerend of the bottom blowout preventer main body 42 of the stack depictedin FIG. 19, the top blowout preventer body 42 may also include a raisedface 170 on its lower end. In some embodiments, the blowout preventerbodies 42 may also or instead include raised faces 170 on their upperends. The depicted raised face 170 includes a seal groove 172 forreceiving a seal ring or gasket.

As shown in FIG. 19, the raised face 170 extends continuously from thebore 44 to the outer edge of the raised face 170, with the loneexception of the single seal groove 172. In at least some embodiments,however, the raised face includes at least one additional recess in theraised face 170. This additional recess further increases the contactpressure on the raised face 170 for a given bolting make-up load appliedvia the flanged connection.

One example of such an additional recess is shown in FIGS. 20 and 21 asa recess 174 provided in the raised face 170 outward of the seal groove172. In these two figures, the recess 174 is shown as a circular groovethat is concentric with the circular seal groove 172 and with thecircular outer perimeter of the raised face 170, and that partitions theraised face 170 into inner and outer contact surfaces. But the sealgroove 172, the recess 174, and the outer perimeter of the raised face170 may be provided in other shapes in different embodiments, and neednot be the same shape. For instance, the raised face 170 could have anoval, rectangular, or irregular outer perimeter. Similarly, the recess174 could be provided as an oval, rectangular, or irregular groove. Inother instances, the raised face 170 may include multiple recesses 174,which may themselves be concentric grooves or have some other shape.Further, the one or more recesses 174 could be provided asnon-continuous grooves (e.g., semi-circular slots or radial slots) orother indentations (e.g., pockets) in the raised face 170. In certainembodiments in which the recess 174 is provided as a groove thatpartitions the raised face 170 into inner and outer contact surfaces,the inner and outer contact surfaces may be stepped such that the innercontact surface protrudes further from the main body 42 than does theouter contact surface.

In FIG. 22, each of the main bodies 42 is shown as having upper andlower raised faces 170, and the main bodies 42 are coupled together viaflanges 50 such that adjoining raised faces 170 of the two main bodies42 (i.e., at the bottom of the upper main body 42 and the top of thelower main body 42) are in contact. A seal ring 178 is positioned in theseal grooves 172 of the adjoining raised faces 170 to inhibit leakagebetween the main bodies 42 from the bore 44. As may be seen in FIG. 22,the recesses 174 in the raised faces 170 reduce the area of contactbetween the adjoining raised faces 170 of the two main bodies 42.

Each recess 174 can have any desired width and depth. In certainembodiments, for example, the width of the recess 174 (measured alongthe contact surface of the raised face 170) is at least two, three, orfour times that of the seal groove 172. Likewise, the depth of therecess 174 is at least two, three, or four times that of the seal groove172 in at least some embodiments. The width of the recess 174 (again,measured along the contact surface) can also be compared to the width ofthe raised face 170 between the bore 44 and the outer perimeter of theraised face 170. The width of the recess 174 could be more thanone-third or more than one-half of the radial distance from the bore 44to the outer perimeter of the raised face 170, for example. The recess174 can also have various contours. In some embodiments, the recess 174is provided as a groove with a semi-hexagonal shape (like the shape ofthe seal groove 172), a semi-oval shape, a rectangular shape, or atriangular shape, though the recess 174 could have still other shapes(including irregular shapes) in different embodiments.

Recesses 174 can be formed by removing material from lower-stress areasat the ends of the main bodies 42, which also reduces the weight of themain bodies 42. Additionally, the recesses 174 increase connectionefficiency by causing increased contact pressure of the mating raisedfaces 170 for a given bolting make-up load in a flanged connection. Thisfacilitates using the same bolts for greater loads (increased capacity)or smaller bolts to provide the original make-up load. Still further,the recesses 174 facilitate extension of the outer perimeter of theraised faces 170 closer to the outer edge of the flanges, which maydecrease stress levels in the ends of the main bodies 42 and in thebolting from make-up loads. Although the raised faces 170 with recesses174 are shown and discussed above with respect to FIGS. 20-22 as part ofwide-flanged ram-type blowout preventers, the same techniques can beapplied to other wide-flanged components or to other components withtraditional flanged connections (e.g., components with vertical bore APIconnections).

In many instances, nuts are used with bolts or studs to make-up aflanged connection. An example of this is shown in FIG. 23, in whichfasteners 48 (shown here in the form of nuts and bolts) are used toconnect the main bodies 42 via the wide flanges 50. In some instances,such as when there is a gap between a flange and a mating surface (e.g.,a mating flange or studded surface), fasteners in flanged connectionsmay be subject to bending loads. In the embodiment depicted in FIG. 23,the presence of the adjoining raised faces 170 cause the mating flanges50 of the two main bodies 42 to be spaced apart. When the flangedconnection is made-up (e.g., by tightening the nuts on the bolts), theflanges 50 can flex toward one another, causing bending stresses on thebolts. Such bending stresses may also be caused by external loading.

In some embodiments, bending stresses on fasteners in a flangedconnection are reduced through use of shaped elements that facilitaterotation of the flanges relative to the fasteners. By way of example, asgenerally shown in FIG. 23, the flanges 50 include shaped inserts toreduce bending stresses on the fasteners 48. Certain aspects of theinserts may be better understood with reference to FIGS. 24-26.

In FIG. 24, inserts 182 and 184 are shown positioned within counterbores186 of the fastening holes 46 in the flanges 50, which are separated bya gap 190. The inserts 182 and 184 bear against one another, with theinserts 182 having a concave bearing surface and the inserts 184 havinga convex bearing surface. These bearing surfaces are shown in moredetail in the exploded view of the fasteners and inserts in FIG. 26. Aspresently depicted, the mating surfaces of the concave inserts 182 andthe convex inserts 184 are spherical, though either or both inserts mayinstead have a non-spherical bearing surface in other embodiments (e.g.,non-spherical, tapered surfaces oriented to facilitate rotation of theflange with respect to a fastener). And while the concave inserts 182are presently depicted as contacting the flange 50 with the convexinserts 184 contacting the fasteners 48, these inserts could beinstalled in the reverse order (i.e., with the inserts 184 contactingthe flanges 50 and the inserts 182 contacting the fasteners 48).

Upon loading of the bolted connection (whether from make-up, end loads,or other external loading) in a manner causing or increasing flexure ofthe flanges 50, the concave inserts 182 move with the flanges 50, whichcauses the concave inserts 182 to slide along and pivot about the convexinserts 184. An example of this is shown in FIG. 25, in which the boltedconnection is deflected further than shown in FIG. 24. The extent offlexure of the flanges 50 in FIG. 25 is exaggerated for the sake ofexplanation and to better show the pivoting of the concave inserts 182about the convex inserts 184 upon flexure of the flanges 50. Thisrelative movement of the concave inserts 182 with respect to the convexinserts 184 allows the flange 50 to move relative to the fastener 48(bolt or stud) extending through the holes 46 and reduces the magnitudeof bending stresses transferred to the fastener. In at least someembodiments, the concave inserts 182 include splits 194 (FIG. 26) in oneor more places to reduce hoop stresses on these inserts within thecounterbores 186. The presently described inserts can be used to reducebending stresses in bolted connections of various wide flange bodies,such as those described above. But the inserts can similarly be used inother flanged connections, including traditional flanged connections, toreduce bending stresses in full accordance with the present technique.

Additionally, while certain embodiments are described above as havingexternal connection flanges (e.g., flanges 50, 134, and 146) extendinglaterally along the sides of main bodies of various components, andusing fasteners 48 in the form of bolts and nuts to join the componentsto each other or to other components via these lateral flanges, otherconnection arrangements are also contemplated. For example, clamps (suchas C-clamps) could be used, rather than bolts and nuts, to join flangestogether. In other embodiments, latches, clevis assemblies, keys, or abreech-lock connection could be used to join adjacent components, withor without flanges. In still another embodiment, the stackable blowoutpreventer bodies or other components can have a tongue and groovearrangement to facilitate alignment and coupling of the preventers orother components together.

While the aspects of the present disclosure may be susceptible tovarious modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments havebeen shown by way of example in the drawings and have been described indetail herein. But it should be understood that the invention is notintended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, theinvention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by thefollowing appended claims.

1. An apparatus comprising a component of a wellhead assembly or of ariser of a drilling or production system, the component including: anon-tubular main body; and a bore extending axially through the mainbody to allow fluids to flow through the main body via the bore; whereinthe component does not include a flanged neck fixedly extending the borefrom the main body with a connection flange below or above the mainbody, but the component instead includes a lateral flange extendingoutwardly from an exterior surface of the main body such that thelateral flange is positioned alongside the main body.
 2. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the main body of the component is a round body. 3.The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the component is an annular blowoutpreventer, a flex joint, or a connector of the wellhead assembly or ofthe riser.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the component is aram-type blowout preventer.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, comprising oneor more additional components each: having a non-tubular main body and abore extending axially through the main body to allow fluids to flowthrough the main body via the bore; not having a flanged neck fixedlyextending the bore from the main body with a connection flange below orabove the main body; and instead having a lateral flange extendingoutwardly from an exterior surface of the main body such that thelateral flange is positioned alongside the main body; wherein the one ormore additional components are coupled with the component such that thebores of the component and of the one or more additional components arein fluid communication with each other.
 6. The apparatus of claim 5,wherein the component is an annular blowout preventer and the one ormore additional components include a flex joint.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 5, comprising a lower marine riser package having the componentand the one or more additional components.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7,wherein the component and the one or more additional componentscollectively include an annular blowout preventer, a flex joint, and aconnector for connecting the lower marine riser package to a subseablowout preventer stack.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thelateral flange includes fastening holes.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the lateral flange is an interrupted flange that does not extendcontinuously about the main body.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, whereinthe interrupted flange includes tabs that extend outwardly from theexterior surface of the main body.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe main body of the component includes an end with a raised face, acircular seal groove in the raised face, and an additional circulargroove in the raised face; the bore through the main body includes anend at the raised face; the end of the bore at the raised face issurrounded by the circular seal groove; and the circular seal groove issurrounded by the additional circular groove.
 13. A blowout preventerapparatus comprising a blowout preventer including a main body having anaxial bore to permit fluid to pass through the main body via the axialbore and a lateral flange on the exterior of the main body to facilitatefastening of the blowout preventer to an additional component via thelateral flange, wherein the blowout preventer does not include a tubularneck having the lateral flange.
 14. The blowout preventer apparatus ofclaim 13, comprising the additional component, wherein the additionalcomponent is fastened to the blowout preventer via the lateral flangeand a mating flange of the additional component.
 15. The blowoutpreventer apparatus of claim 14, wherein the additional componentincludes a ram-type blowout preventer, an annular blowout preventer, aflex joint, or a collet connector.
 16. The blowout preventer apparatusof claim 13, wherein the blowout preventer is a ram-type blowoutpreventer.
 17. A method comprising: forming a main body of apressure-control device of a wellhead assembly or of a riser of adrilling or production system, the main body including a bore extendingaxially through the main body and an internal cavity configured toreceive moveable components for facilitating pressure control within themain body; and providing a lateral flange extending outwardly from anexterior of the main body so as to enable the pressure-control device tobe coupled as part of the wellhead assembly or of the riser by afastened connection alongside the main body.
 18. The method of claim 17,wherein providing the lateral flange includes forging the lateral flangeintegrally with the main body.
 19. The method of claim 17, comprisingproviding an additional lateral flange extending outwardly from theexterior of the main body so as to enable the pressure-control device tobe coupled as part of the wellhead assembly or of the riser by anadditional fastened connection alongside the main body.
 20. The methodof claim 19, wherein providing the lateral flange and providing theadditional lateral flange includes providing the lateral flange and theadditional lateral flange at opposite ends of the main body.